Why U.S added Nigeria, Nigerians to enhanced terrorism risk list

Why U.S added Nigeria, Nigerians to terrorism risk list; U.S official speaks to USAfricaonline.com

USAfricaNewswire, Jan 4, 2010.

USAfrica multimedia networks, Houston. USAfricaonline.com, CLASSmagazine, The Black Business Journal and Nigeria360@yahoogroups e-group

The U.S Transportation Security Administration says that beginning today January 4, 2010: ”passengers flying into the United States from certain countries will be subject to enhanced screening techniques, such as body scans and pat-downs.” The order includes the requirement that “all passengers on U.S.-bound international flights will be subject to random screening.”

This has been issued against the background of the December 25, 2009 plot and actions by 23-year old Nigerian Farouk Abdul Mutallab to blow up a plane entering Detroit airport.

Nigeria is, already, taking issues with the order. Nigeria’s information minister Dora Akunyili is arguing that the latest TSA decision on Nigeria and 14 other countries is faulty. “It is unfair to include Nigeria on the U.S list for tighter screening because Nigerians do not have terrorist tendencies…. It is unfair to discriminate against over 150 million people because of the behaviour of one person.”

But a U.S national security official in Washington DC informed USAfrica’s Publisher Chido Nwangwu that “the U.S is not engaging in a random decision. This is a clear, urgent response to the realities of the relationships the young Nigerian man AbdulMutallab had with al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, and possibly elsewhere….”

Detroit lawyer Miriam Siefer, the chief counsel of the Federal Defender Office in Detroit, will represent Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. His parents and some siblings are expected to witness his trial/arraignment, scheduled for Detroit on January 8, 2010.

Meanwhile, Nigerians across the world continue to express their condemnation of the alleged acts by AbdulMutallab. Many of them basically argued across USAfricaonline.com and the Nigeria360@yahoogroups e-group blog: it is difficult enough for the reputation of Nigerians being seen (by some) as a base for scam and con men/women and will get worse with the latest addition of the global scar of terrorism.

While the American security agencies and officials focus on the scope and implications of the AbdulMutallab failed plot, many Nigerians have been quick to dismiss the Mutallab event as an action of one young man who was largely raised outside Nigeria.

See USAfricaonline.com news feature: The Mutallabs: terror-bound son Farouk and business mogul father Umar. http://www.usafricaonline.com/mutallabs-chido-usafrica/

The senior Mutallab, visited the U.S embassy in Abuja (Nigeria) in 2008 to alert its security of the son’s growing liason and engagement with al-Qaeda type characters, especially in the radicalized country of Yemen.

In a December 12, 2001 exclusive commentary for USAfricaonline.com, USAfrica publisher Chido Nwangwu raised a red flag and forewarned in the critical insight which focused on Al-Qaeda, rag-tag Talibans and Nigeria’s security situation,titled:Nigeria’s bin-Laden cheerleaders could ignite religious war, destabilize Africa

http://www.usafricaonline.com/chido.binladennigeria.html

USAfricaonline.com research shows the network of radical Islam fighting under the recent, general banner of alQaeda have executed attacks, successfully across parts of Africa in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

——

LIVE on New York’s WWRL news/issues show from 6.32am EST on Tues Jan5, 2010, USAfrica’s CHIDO Nwangwu

is guest of CNN & NY DailyNews contributor Errol Louis. Insights n debate of Nigeria, Mutallab n terrorism listing/profiling issues….

plus live streaming via the web…

USAfrica: Our international community’s News & Opinion Leader.

—–
USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com (characterized by The New York
Times as the largest and, arguably, the most influential African-owned, U.S-based multimedia
networks) established May 1992, our first edition of USAfrica magazine
was published August 1993; USAfrica The Newspaper on May 11, 1994;
CLASSmagazine on May 2, 2003; www.PhotoWorks.TV in 2005
——

http://www.usafricaonline.com Ajayi Emmanuel

l just want to explain the fact that Farouk was not brought up in Nigeria, he spent 99.9percent of his life abroad.ln his attempt to bomb an aeroplane doesn't mean that Nigerian are like that.l will say it wouldn't be right to list Nigeria as one of the torrorist countries.This is because Nigeria(up to 150million population) cannot be judge by Farouk's ugly action.
Dupe Daniels

How can people say nigeria is a nation of peace, when rogues keep kidnapping oil workers, and northern moslems in nigeria keep killing christians when they have the opportunity, or is it the thieves that keep killing innocent citizens for thier little hard earned resources? If we Nigerians were to respect human lives and liberties within our country, there would be no need for America to put Nigeria on the list of terrorist countries. Besides what do we really have to offer to the USA? our so called leaders have plundered the nigerian treasury and resources, while the citizens commit fraud all over the world. Nigerians, let us tell ourselves the truth and repair our country so that there will be no need for us to travel all over the world only to be treated like dirt
Obisue Emmanuel, Nig

Listing Nigeria as a terrorist Nation is hasty and uncalled for.It could alter the ties between the US and Nigeria.
Preky

Trully judging a country by an individual is not trully the right thing to do and where it hurts more is that the offender Abdulmutallab was born and bred outside Nigeria, which I think made it easy for him to be brain washed into terrorism.
Kabiru

This is where most of Christians Like OKWU IGBO, got it wrong, It is true that in recent times, Northern Nigeria has not been an exemplary place for religious tolerance. Many young energetic Muslims and Christians who are always instigated by Southern Christian to portray Muslims as land of savages, have perpetrated and perpetuated holocaust and genocide in the name of religion. They use knives, sticks, cutlasses, daggers and locally made single barrel gun, but you can hardly hear of any sophisticated weapon, except in very few instances and clashes.

The entire western world (not only Nigerian apologists to west like OKWU IGBO) should not take this as a pretext of subjecting Nigerians to unnecessary investigations, harassment and checking. The British witnessed the ugly trial of their Shoe bomber, Robert Reid their fellow Briton. He attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight some years back. Timothy McVeigh, the man who blew up a Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 was an American. This is just a tip out of the iceberg.
keyboards

Mutallab was assisted by nigerian security agents,these agents have thesame belief just as mutallab.The americans should know that nigeria security agents don't search children of northern nigeria wealthy men,and it is time to start freezing their assets,as a matter of fact we don' tknow the whereabout of nigeria president.
vivian Micheal

i think Nigerians should not be regarded as terrorist because of one individual who has decided to put selfish reasons before the image of a whole nation, and one thing i will like the government to do is make sure whatever the verdict is should be made known to every Nigerian and not be treated like 'some' cases because his father is influential. this is about saving the image of Nigerians.
okwu Igbo

northern Nigeria has been the breeding ground for islamic terrorists for many years. Are we so quick to forget the waves of terrorist activities where armed gangs of fanatical muslem youths killed hundreds of innocent southern nigerians in the open markets, places of worships, hospitals, etc in Jos, Mina, Kano, Sokoto etc. The military leaders of nigeria refused to arrest and presecute the Housa/Fulani terrorists some of whom came from northern Africa. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was raised by his parents in the northern nigerian ambient of the fierce muslem hatred of non-muslems. Therefore, it is correct to subject nigerians to additional searches at international flights so as to prevent another fanatical northern nigerian muslem from attempting to bomb the aeroplane. It is now the duty of southern nigerians and all lawful nigerians to be vigilant and to report potential terrorists to the police. In this way, nigerians will demonstrate that they are dependable partners of the USA in the fight against terrorists.
Pingback: George Onuorah, Willie Dixon, others get honors from New York’s ‘You Can Go To College Committee’ | ::USAfricaonline.com
Pingback: LIVE on New York’s WWRL, USAfrica’s Chido Nwangwu is guest of CNN & NY DailyNews contributor Errol Louis. | ::USAfricaonline.com
Adenuga Akeem

I don't think what the US security officials did was right by adding Nigeria on a tight security list. Before the attack, US security officials were warned, but did not take actions. Next question, what will happen to those Nigerians abroad? They will all looked with an eye of "Terrorist". I think the US government should look into this again, because we are a nation of peace.

Joseph Okemefula

The alleged terrorist act of Abdulmutallab is condemnable by every right-thinking person and I know that it's been widely condenmed by Nigerians. You may accuse some Nigerian youths of tendencies to comit fraud but terrorism is completely allien to us. Just read the profile of the individual in question; he has complete British upbringing from Secondary to University education. Put candidly, if any country viz-a-viz this incident should be put on that list, it is the UK. It is completely unfair to leave a country that is known to have terrorist cells, whose environment allows terrorist scouts to recruit young people into terrorism and then seek to humuliate Nigeria. I think this action should be reversed immediately otherwise the US will be shooting itself in the foot because Nigeria is a regional power that has contributed positively to world peace efforts. US has everything to loose if Nigeria severs relations with it as Nigeria has capacity to prop up another power's influence in the region & continent: China.

Why U.S added Nigeria, Nigerians to enhanced terrorism risk list

Archives by Tag

Recent Entries

Archives